


Words Would Be Pretty Useful Right About Now

by whathashappenedhere



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, High School, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, look they're just all huge gay messes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-03 20:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12154266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whathashappenedhere/pseuds/whathashappenedhere
Summary: Race likes Albert. Albert likes Race. This seems pretty simple, right? Well, you'd be wrong, because toss in a healthy dose of misunderstandings and secret crushes and you get a big ol gay mess.





	1. School would be better if I wasn't so gay (Race)

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty much all albo hcs (mechanic, cryptid loving, even the nickname albo) are from Jules (timetogoslumming on tumblr)
> 
> Race's cousin Melody is from Buggy (bentylershook on tumblr)

Race sighed heavily. He was in history class, and the teacher’s dull monotone just seemed to make the class drag on and on. He just wanted this class to  _ finish _ so that he could go to lunch. He had so many things he needed to talk to Elmer about, the first one being- “Impatient much, Race?” Albert DaSilva, Race’s seat partner and easily one of the cutest guys Race had ever met. Everything about him was gorgeous, and Race was so very, very gay.

“Well yeah. Not like I  _ want _ to listen to Mr. Monotonous drone on when I could be talking with Elmer at lunch.” Albert’s face fell and Race frowned, looking at his friend curiously. “Something wrong, Al?” A wide grin appeared on Albert’s face, quick enough that Race almost wondered if he’d imagined the expression the redhead had.

“Nah, just wondering how long Spot’s gonna tolerate me tagging along with him at lunch.” Race rolled his eyes.

“What do you guys even talk about? Fitness tips? Your workouts?” Albert scoffed and lightly shoved Race’s shoulder.

“We talk about other things too, y’know.”

“I mean obviously I don’t know, since I’m asking.”

“Racetrack Higgins? More like  _ Smartass _ Higgins.” Albert muttered, a teasing grin on his face. Race winked at him in response. Albert coughed and looked away, cheeks tinged pink. “Anyways, we talk about stuff that’s not just sports or fitness. Last week we had a riveting discussion on cars and mechanics.” Race raised an eyebrow. “And no it wasn’t just me rambling about my job.”

“Well you never know. You did manage to spend three hours talking about cars once.” Albert rolled his eyes.

“Oh stuff it Higgins. We got less than a minute til the bell anyways.” Race’s head whipped around to look at the clock and he stuffed his notes into his bag just as the bell rang.

 

Lunch with Elmer was normal. They’d almost always eaten together, ever since they’d met way back in elementary school. Race, like always, all but threw himself on the bench next to Elmer once he’d gotten his lunch. “Elm,” Race started melodramatically, using Elmer’s shoulder as a pillow as he gestured largely. “I’m  _ so fucking gay _ .” Elmer laughed and ruffled Race’s blonde curls as Race scowled and swatted his hand away, pulling away so he could look at Elmer in mock offense. “This is no laughing matter Kasprzak! You of all people… betraying me…” Elmer rolled his eyes, still grinning.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. What’s Al done now to put your poor, pining heart in a twist?”

“ _ Exist _ .” Race groaned, flopping back onto Elmer’s shoulder dramatically. “He’s so  _ attractive _ , El, my poor gay heart can’t take this. He’s so adorable too. Whenever he starts talking about cars he just gets so excited and he gets this  _ look _ in his eyes and the biggest grin and  _ ugh _ .” Elmer snickered as Race groaned again, louder. “But he spends all his time with  _ Spot _ and they talk about working out and cars and who knows what else. I don’t even like working out but I’d listen to him talk about it for  _ hours _ .” Race paused, noticing how quiet Elmer had gotten. He turned to see a faint blush on his childhood friend’s face. Race smirked. “Ooh, you thinking ‘bout Spot?” Elmer flushed.

“Oh shut up. I listen to you ramble about your crush, you can stand to let me think about mine for a bit in peace.” Race snorted, tossing an arm around Elmer’s shoulders and yanking him close.

“Peace? Around me? Never.” Elmer rolled his eyes and smiled fondly.

“Yeah yeah, you’re a real agent of chaos sometimes. Or all the time, really.” Race smirked.

“You know it.” He finally let go of Elmer, instead turning to go poke at his food. “Hey, what do you think this is?” Elmer, who had been bringing his own lunch to school for years, raised an eyebrow and looked at the…. ‘food’ incredulously.

“You sure that’s even edible?”

“Not one bit.” Race said cheerfully, spearing the stuff with his fork. “If I die, I leave my heart and space stuff to Al, and you can have my physics textbook.” Elmer was looking at the jiggling blob on the end of Race’s fork warily. “And tell Melody she was right and I should have made myself a sandwich today.”

“Right. Or you could like… not eat that and have half of my sandwich instead.” Race paused thoughtfully, eyeing Elmer’s sandwich.

“What kind of sandwich is it today?”

“Peanut butter and banana.” Race put the fork down.

“I’ll take it.” Elmer handed him half of the sandwich. “Thanks man, I don’t think I’d survive the school’s mystery meat and I have a test today I can’t miss. You’re a lifesaver.” Elmer seemed embarrassed, cheeks pink as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

“It was nothing.” Elmer muttered, before picking up his half of the sandwich. “What class is the test in? Physics?” Race paused in between bites of food.

“Yeah, otherwise I’d happily eat the mystery meat and let you drag me to the nurse’s office for the rest of the day.”

“Who said I’d drag you there? Maybe I’d just leave you here.” Race raised an eyebrow. Elmer was too nice of a person to  _ not _ take him down to the nurse’s office, and had done so many other times when Race made more…. Questionable decisions while at school. Elmer caved. “Okay yeah I’d take you.”

“Never thought you wouldn’t.” Elmer opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off as Race noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Spot and Albert had gotten food and were sitting down at a table in one of the emptier corners of the room. “Hey Elm, look who’s showing his face in the cafeteria today.” Race gestured with a jerk of his head. Elmer looked at Race in confusion before turning to see what Race had gestured at. When he saw Spot, leaning casually against the wall and chatting with Albert, he squeaked and turned red. Race snickered, ruffling Elmer’s hair playfully. “You’re so gone for him.” Elmer made a noise of protest as he tried fruitlessly to fix his hair. “Just leave it like that, it looks fine when you don’t put hair gel in it.” Elmer rolled his eyes.

“It might look ‘fine’ but that doesn’t mean  _ I _ want my hair to be a mess of curls. Maybe it would look like,” Elmer gave a dramatic shudder. “ _ Yours _ .” Race scowled in faux-offense and tried to mess up Elmer’s hair more as the other boy laughed and tried to keep him away from his hair  _ and _ eat.

“Just give up, Kasprzak. I have the advantage.”

“No, you have the  _ height _ advantage, and I have the everything else advantage. But I will stop, just because I want to actually eat my lunch while we still have time.”

“Boring.” Elmer lightly elbowed Race, but shifted his focus to his lunch. Race half heartedly attempted to smooth down the mess that Elmer’s hair had become before giving up and just running his fingers through it. “How the hell do you keep your hair this soft anyways? It’s just not natural.”

“Maybe I’m born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.” Elmer remarked, deadpan. They held eye contact for a few seconds before they both burst out laughing. When they had calmed down, Elmer grinned and ran a hand through his hair. “I think it’s actually just because I use my sister’s old shampoo, and Mama always says we have good genes.”

“You have good jeans all right. Go clothes shopping recently?” Elmer smiled widely at the joke, open and so unabashedly pleased that something in Race’s chest fluttered.

“I actually did, Isolde dragged me with her the last time she was in town.”

“Did you profess my undying love for her like I asked you to?” Elmer rolled his eyes and shoved Race.

“One, I’m not ‘profess’-ing anything for you. Two, Isolde is gay and you know this.”

“So? Your sister is a badass, Elm.” Elmer sighed.

“You know what? No, we are not talking about my siblings. How’re things going with Al?” Race immediately clammed up, face turning pink as he looked down at his sandwich. “You ever planning on telling him?” Race eyed Elmer incredulously.

“Tell him? Dude no.”

“Why not? You can’t say you’ve never thought about it before.” 

“I don’t even know if he likes guys, Elm! I can’t just… confess to a straight dude. They get all weird afterwards and avoid you for all eternity and I can’t lose Al like that.” He sighed heavily. Elmer coughed, eager to change the subject.

“So uh… you ready for that physics test?” Race perked up, eager to talk about his favorite subject. The two of them spent the rest of lunch chatting about school and sports, laughing and teasing each other until the bell rang, ending lunch.

“I’ll talk to you later, Elm!” Race called out as the two of them split off to head to their next classes. He had English next, and Albert was in that class with him too. Race sighed wistfully as he thought about the other boy. Elmer had been right at lunch when he’d said that there was no way Race hadn’t thought about telling Albert. Elmer was usually right about things like that, it was yet another thing about Race’s best friend that made him so endearing and adorable. Race bit his lip. Adorable… that had been a recent development. He still wasn’t sure how to feel about it yet.

Before he could dwell on that any longer, the bell rang and Albert slid into the seat next to him. “Just in time!”

“You’re cutting it a little close, Al.” Albert shrugged, shooting a crooked grin at Race as he pulled out a notebook.

“Got held up in the halls. I was talking to Spot-” Race shoved down the pang of jealousy. Albert wasn’t his and he had a right to hang out with his friends. “And then the freshmen swarmed.” Race snorted.

“At least you can see over them.”

“Spot can’t.” Albert said, a mischievous smile on his face, and Race burst out laughing. The teacher shushed him, but he just muffled his laughs with his shirt sleeve. Albert was grinning, a goofy smile on his face.

“Oh man, how pissed was he when you guys got out?” Race said once he’d managed to catch his breath. Albert leaned back in his chair.

“Let’s just say, I would not want to be Elmer and have to deal with him next class.” Race winced, but couldn’t really bring himself to feel bad for his friend. Elmer was one of the few people in their friend group who could calm Spot down, so he’d probably be fine. Dealing with an annoyed Spot was never fun though.

“At least El’s good at calming him down.” Albert’s smile faltered at the nickname for Elmer but he quickly regained his composure.

“Yeah, I have math with Spot later and I’m just glad he’s not going to be nearly as pissy by then.”

“Yeah, me too. Dodgeball when he’s angry is just  _ brutal _ .” Albert cringed at the thought.

“I do  _ not _ envy you being in his gym class.” Race sighed, slumping against his desk.

“Ugh. At least I might end up on his team and be spared from the onslaught.” Albert solemnly patted him on the shoulder.

“Good luck with that, buddy.” They looked at each other and grinned. “Seriously though, try not to let Spot kill you via hellish public school gym balls. I’d miss having your lame jokes to buoy me through the day.” Race could  _ feel _ himself blush, the tips of his ears going red.

“Excuse you, my jokes are  _ far _ from lame.”

“You keep telling yourself that Race.” Race scowled and shoved Albert lightly.

“I am at the pinnacle of humor.”

“Mhm, that’s nice, Racey-poo.”

“Racey-poo?” Race asked incredulously, looking at Albert askance. Albert shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

“What? It suits you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Y’know, small, cutesy-” Race cut Albert off with a soft punch to the shoulder.

“I am not small or cute, I am a Manly Man.” Albert raised an eyebrow and smirked. Race felt his face go hot again and was sure he looked like a tomato at this point.

“Yeah, sure Racey-poo.” Race rolled his eyes. The teacher began talking and they both turned to pay attention in class. Race didn’t really process what the teacher was saying, too hung up over Albert’s words. ‘ _ Small, cutesy… _ ’ Was Albert calling him cute? Race sighed heavily, ignoring the confused and slightly concerned look Albert gave him. He was so far gone for this boy, it was ridiculous. If only he actually had a chance.

 


	2. Gay Squared (Albert)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albert is really gay, and unreliable narrators are really fun to write

Albert DaSilva was _really fucking gay_ . This thought kept drifting through his mind as he snuck glances at his seat partner in history, Race. Race was just… so _cute_ , and so funny, and so completely adorable it was no wonder Albert had fallen head over heels for him. He couldn’t help poking a bit of fun at Race’s (frankly adorable) pout. “Impatient much?” He asked with a grin.

“Well yeah. Not like I _want_ to listen to Mr. Monotonous drone on when I could be talking with Elmer at lunch.” Albert felt his grin falter at the mention of Race’s boyfriend. That, really, was the main issue with having a crush on Race. Albert liked Elmer, really. He was a nice guy, helpful and funny. But Albert couldn’t stop the rush of jealousy that appeared every time he thought of Elmer and Race at lunch, laughing and all but sitting in each other’s laps as they played with each other’s hair and shared food. “Something wrong, Al?” Albert forced his grin back up, even more than before. Race couldn’t know that Albert liked him, not when Race was perfectly happy with his boyfriend and would probably get upset if he found out Albert had been crushing on him for months now.

“Nah, just wondering how long Spot’s gonna tolerate me tagging along with him at lunch.” Albert and Spot got along well, and ate lunch together on days when all of their friends weren’t sitting together as one huge group. They chatted about a lot of things, jobs, the gym, Albert’s huge gay crush - you know, normal things guys talked about. Sure, Albert wasn’t being entirely honest with Race right now, but all for the sake of keeping his massive gay crush hidden, right?

The two of them talked until the bell rang, and Albert watched in fond amusement as Race scrambled to pack up his notes and hurried out the door - he was adorable when he was flustered, Albert thought wistfully. As soon as Race was out of sight, Albert sighed and let his smile drop. Race was excited to see his boyfriend - and of course he was! Albert would be excited if he had a boyfriend too. But that didn’t mean he was exactly in a hurry to get his stuff packed up so that he could go get his food in the cafeteria and see his crush and his crush’s boyfriend making heart eyes at each other. God, Albert was so selfish to want Race when he was already happily taken, wasn’t he? Dejected, Albert sighed and slowly packed his bag.

Spot was waiting for him when he finally left the history classroom. “You want to eat in the cafeteria today?” Albert almost said no, said that he’d rather eat outside with Spot under their tree where he didn’t need to think about things like the deep ache in his chest that showed up whenever he saw Race and Elmer laughing and cuddling together.

“...Yeah, sure.”

 

By the time Spot and Albert made it to the cafeteria, Race and Elmer were already all over each other. Race was running his hands through Elmer’s hair as the two of them talked, and and Albert sighed as he watched them. Spot frowned and followed Albert’s gaze to the couple. “You jealous?” Spot’s voice was low and a bit rough, and something about it made Albert’s heart flutter and his hands sweat.

“I- uh.” Albert sighed again. “Yeah.” Spot patted him on the shoulder, a bit too hard to be the reassuring comfort Spot seemed to have intended it to be, but Albert appreciated the thought anyways.

“That sucks, man.” Spot said, a bit brusque, before turning back to his food. Albert bit his lip as he fought down the blush threatening to appear. He wasn’t sure exactly when he’d started feeling like this around Spot. At first, he had figured his crush on Race was fading as his crush on Spot grew but… three weeks later, and his feelings for both boys were still going strong. He was such a mess, honestly. Two crushes? Both of whom he was pining over equally? Who even has that happen to them? He liked both of them, but chances are that neither of them would ever even _dream_ of liking him back. “Al?” Albert jumped, startled from his thoughts by Spot’s voice.

“Yeah?” Spot was looking at him in concern, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed.

“Is there something wrong? You look pretty deep in thought. Never thought I’d ever say that about you, though.” Albert rolled his eyes and kicked Spot in the shins lightly, a small grin on his face. Albert shoved down the nervous flutter of emotions in his chest that bloomed even with that simple action.

“I’m fine, man.” Spot raised an eyebrow, not believing Albert at all.

“Sure you are. Just tell me,” he said, leaning forward across the table to lightly tap Albert’s shoulder with his fist.

“It’s nothing, Spotty.”

“Don’t call me Spotty.” Spot said automatically. His tone was as annoyed as ever, but Albert could see the corner of his mouth twitch up in a miniscule smile. “And it’s not like I have anything else to do right now. Even if it’s nothing, go ahead and tell me.” Albert hesitated. He couldn’t tell Spot he liked him and risk their friendship, but Spot always had known more about sexuality stuff than Albert… maybe he’d know something about Albert’s double crush situation? Well it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Or well, it could hurt, a lot, if Spot somehow managed to piece together that Spot liked him too and decided to get in a fight with him about it or something. Albert wasn’t really sure what it said about him that the mental image that popped up of Spot throwing him to the floor was… surprisingly, not all that unpleasant. Getting beat up, though, would be _very_ unpleasant, as Albert knew from experience, and Spot was easily stronger than him so there would be no chance Albert could win if they fought.

“What does it mean, hypothetically, if you like two people at once?” Albert’s voice cracked and he kept his gaze firmly trained on his lunch tray. He didn’t think he would be able to make eye contact with Spot right now, not without cracking and spilling all about his huge, massive, very, very gay crush on Spot.

“Like as in…?” Spot almost sounded… unsure. That was new. Spot always acted with a sort of easy confidence that Albert admired.

“Having a crush on. Liking romantically. Whatever term you want to use.” Spot made a small noise of surprise, leaning back in his seat.

“Huh. Not gonna lie, that is not what I was expecting your problem to be.” Albert shot him a half hearted glare before going back to poking his food around his tray.

“This is a hypothetical scenario,” Albert muttered. Spot ignored him and cleared his throat, hands fidgeting with his plastic spork.

“Have you uh. Heard of polyamory?”

“No?” Albert said hesitantly. It sounded familiar but he didn’t know where he’d heard it.

“It’s when people date, or fuck sometimes, multiple people.”

“Isn’t that like… cheating?”

“No, because everyone knows about the others involved. It’s only cheating if you aren’t communicating properly or have a partner your previous partners don't know about, or something along those lines.” Albert nodded slowly, trying to process this new info.

“So someone could... have two boyfriends? Hypothetically of course.” Spot raised an eyebrow at Albert’s hurried addition.

“Yeah man.” Spot said, looking concerned. Albert bit his lip, deep in thought. That… really explained a lot. “Want me to text you some articles about it later?” Albert exhaled heavily.

“That’d be good.” He coughed. “So uh. Football game’s this weekend, right? Who’re you guys playing?” Spot gave Albert a Look that meant he knew what Albert was doing and was only going along with it because he was a Good Friend. Spot had very specific looks sometimes.

“Burbank, those really shitty guys from last year.”

“Pretty much everyone looks shitty next to you, though.” Albert said with a grin, relieved that Spot had gone along with his very obvious topic change.

“Yeah, yeah you flatterer. You don’t know shit about football.”

“Hey, I know plenty!”

“Sure you do.” Albert laughed. The two of them spent the rest of lunch talking and joking with each other. The talk about polyamory still lurked in the back of his mind, but Albert tried to shove it down, ignore it in favor of the sports and friendly teasing.

 

Albert flopped down on his bed with a relieved sigh when he finally got home. He was glad to be out of school for the day, away from the teacher’s lectures and the looming presence of Albert’s Big Gay Crush™. Or really, crush _es_ , since apparently he liked both Spot _and_ Race. Albert groaned as his phone vibrated. He fumbled for his phone, pulling it out and looking at the text on the screen. Spot had sent him several links, presumably to articles about polyamory. Albert groaned, louder this time, and buried his head in his arms. It had taken him a while to accept his pansexuality, and now he had to think about this as well. With a heavy sigh, Albert clicked on the first link. He had some reading to do.


	3. Feelings are a Burning Trash Heap (Spot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the race/albert liking space thing was jules (timetogoslumming)'s hc!! all the credit to her and her amazing hcs

Spot Conlon didn’t do “dating”. He didn’t do the sappy couple thing or the handholding or any of that gooey mushy stuff. He didn’t go to the movies and share popcorn and cuddle or whatever it was that couples actually did. He had hookups, sometimes, but that wasn’t  _ dating _ . Hell, he barely did  _ feelings _ , so dating? No. Just no. It wasn’t his thing. He’d had a few relationships in the past, and considering the ways those went, Spot was firmly in the belief that he was better off just not dating at all. And he was fine with that, and there had never been a problem with it… until now.

Spot groaned, flopping down onto his bed. He’d been ignoring this for  _ weeks _ now, ever since Albert had laughed over a stupid joke Spot had made and Spot had wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss that dorky smile off his face. Spot had shoved that thought down  _ fast _ and had resolutely tried not to think of it since. Albert was smitten with Race, even if it  _ was _ a crush (which it totally wasn’t), Spot had no chance. Albert was just too far gone for the blond boy. But now...

Albert had asked him about polyamory earlier and Spot had felt his heart jump. If Albert thought he was poly… well, there was no point in thinking about it. Even if Albert  _ was _ poly, it was obvious his type seemed to lean more towards blonde twinks like Race than, well, Spot. He wasn’t going to kid himself, he was pretty much the polar opposite of Race in almost every way. Dark brown hair, short, stocky, a piss poor attitude… Race was blond, tall, lean, and a jokester. Hell, Race was even a cheerleader and Spot played football. Spot didn’t have a goddamn chance, not with  _ Race _ around.

Spot sat up fast enough to make his head spin and his vision swim. Was he  _ jealous? _ Of  _ Racetrack Higgins? _ Spot looked down at his hands incredulously. Race was nothing to be jealous of. He was just an upstart male cheerleader with a passion for astrophysics and lame jokes. Sure, he could make Albert laugh with a shitty one liner about Jupiter’s moons or something, and he could have a conversation with Al about the possibility of aliens that used terms that all went right over Spot’s head, but that didn’t mean he was-

Jesus  _ fucking _ christ, he was jealous of Racetrack Higgins. Spot groaned and rubbed at his temples, trying to fighting off the headache he could all but see forming. He didn’t want to deal with this stupid fucking crisis and these stupid fucking feelings. He was a goddamn mess right now and he hated it.

 

The next school day was… interesting. Spot payed attention in his classes, just like normal, but his realization from the previous night ate at him until lunch. The group was all sitting together, and Spot sat down as far away from where he knew Albert’s preferred spot at the table was. Hunched over his food, with headphones over his ears, Spot figured he was probably giving off enough “fuck-off” vibes that even Jack Kelly, that nosy fucker, would leave him alone.

A hand tapped his shoulder and Spot jerked away, whipping his head around to glare at Kelly- but the person there was Elmer, Race’s short, cheerful boyfriend. He had both hands up and had taken a quick step back when Spot had turned, but lowered his hands with a grin when it became apparent Spot wasn’t going to hit him. “Uh, hey Spot. You mind if I sit here?” He waved a hand at the empty seat next to Spot. “Al and Race are talking about space again, and I don’t understand a word of it.” Elmer grinned sheepishly. “Figured I’d sit over here since you were all alone.” Spot couldn’t fight the small smile that crept onto his face.

“Be my guest,” he said, pulling his headphones off. He and Elmer were friends, Spot supposed. They’d had classes together since freshman year, and there was something so open and welcoming about Elmer’s eagerness that Spot couldn’t help but get pulled in by. “What’s been going on in your life?” Elmer beamed at him, obviously pleased that Spot was asking about him.

“Well there’s this project we started in photography, and we started on a new unit in calculus today which is super interesting, we’re talking about limits and how they apply to-” Spot cut him off with a laugh. Talking to Elmer always cheered Spot up, though he wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was because Elmer was so earnest and cheerful? Well, whatever it was, it was nice, and a pleasant change from the burning trash heap that was Spot’s thoughts right now.

“Now who’s talking over whose head?” Elmer flushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Sorry Spot.” Spot bumped Elmer’s leg with his knee in a way that he hoped was reassuring.

“It’s fine El, I’m just not as much of a math nerd as you are. Hell, I doubt anyone is, Mr. ‘I read my math textbook for fun’.” Elmer grinned, still looking a bit embarrassed. What a dork, Spot thought fondly. It was endearing. “What were you saying about your photography project?”

“Well, we have a theme Mrs. Smith gave us and we have to take twenty black and white photos about the theme, which should be easy since it’s pretty broad,” Elmer continued on, gesturing enthusiastically as he talked. “It’s all really cool and I’m excited to work on it since we’ve been given so much free reign.”

“What’s the theme?” 

“Things we find beautiful.” Elmer’s cheeks were a bit pink as he answered. “I know it’s pretty cheesy but I really like it.” And he would, Spot thought. It was pretty obvious that Elmer was more than a bit of a sap, especially when it came to romance. If Spot had to define ‘hopeless romantic’ in one word, it’d be ‘Elmer’. In two words? ‘Albert daSilva’. 

“Anything you planning on taking photos of yet?” Spot raised an eyebrow as Elmer blushed more, his gaze drifting over to Race. 

“Not really…” Spot held back a frown at the irrational hint of jealousy that sprung up. Why would he be jealous? Race was Elmer’s boyfriend, and why would Spot be jealous of either of them right now? Maybe he was just still envious of Albert’s crush on Race and any connection to the other boy was making him think of that subconsciously? He didn’t even know what was going on in his head anymore, for fuck’s sake. “Maybe Ozzy? He is a beautiful cat.” Elmer wondered out loud. Spot seized the opportunity for a change in topic.

“Speaking of him, how is Ozzy doing?” Elmer lit up at the question, always happy to talk about his cat. Spot was perfectly content to talk about Ozzy if it meant he could think about literally anything that wasn’t his emotions. He had never met the cat, since he’d never really hung out with Elmer outside of school if the whole group wasn’t doing something, and that only happened at places that could actually hold their massive group of friends. Houses simply couldn’t contain all of them and their antics. Elmer had shown him plenty of pictures of his one eyed fluffball of a cat, though. Spot was a dog person through and through, no matter how many jokes about Spot being a dog name that got him, but he could admit Elmer’s cat was cute enough. 

“He’s been getting a lot bigger! Maine Coons can get really big, so it’s not a surprise, but we weren’t sure if he’d get as large since he’s a mix. He’s starting to outgrow the box of fabric scraps he really liked when he was smaller though.”

“That seems like a shame.” Spot wasn’t really sure how to respond to Elmer’s enthusiastic chatter about his cat, but obviously he’d said something right, since Elmer lit up and continued talking.

Lunch passed in a whirl of cat facts, random math and statistics that Spot didn’t really get, and Elmer’s cheerful grin as he talked. All in all, it wasn’t that bad of a lunch. And it had gotten his mind off of Albert, which was good. Spot Conlon didn’t have time to angst over his feelings for his friend like the main character in a romance novel. He had shit to do, and he wasn’t going to let this little batch of feelings get in his way.

Or, well… He would  _ try _ to not let it get in the way. One glimpse of Albert as he and Jack headed to their next class together and Spot could feel his composure crack. Albert had a grin on his face and an arm slung around Jack’s shoulder. Again, a hot rush of jealousy tightens around his heart and Spot shoves it away. He has no right to be jealous. And of Kelly? Who’d be jealous of him, paint covered and Santa Fe preaching as he is. But it’s Kelly who’s got Albert’s arm around his shoulders, and god _ damn _ if Spot didn’t wish that were him. It’s something so silly to want, his definitely-not-a-crush’s arm around his shoulders. Fuck, Spot realized, catching another glimpse of Albert’s wide smile out of the corner of his eye. He, Spot Conlon, quarterback of the school’s football team, king of Brooklyn, had a huge, massive, ridiculous crush on Albert daSilva, and there was nothing he could do about it at all. Jesus Christ, he was fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is like... way later than I was planning, but i finally got around to finishing this!!

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to send prompts or other things to my tumblr @spelmer!


End file.
